Measure M: Pragmatic Traffic-Relief Effort or Unfair Taxation? : Pro: The reality is that no one else is coming to Orange County’s rescue, and if we don’t help ourselves, we’ll see our tax dollars exported to other counties.

When you go to the polls Nov. 6, look for that last voter card--the one for Orange County issues. There you will find Measure M--the ballot measure designed to provide traffic relief. It is the single issue that will directly affect you and your family just about every day of your lives.

For that reason, it is probably the most important measure on your ballot.

Measure M, the Revised Traffic Improvement and Growth Management Act, pays for a long list of traffic relief projects. These freeway, road and rail programs are steps to overcoming our traffic. We’ll be in sad shape without these improvements. We can renew our county and invigorate our future if they are built.

Take a careful look at the transportation improvement projects detailed in your voter information pamphlet. They are specific, identifiable projects funded locally with a half-cent sales tax that will sunset in 20 years--when the projects are built and paid for.

Notable among these traffic breakers are:

--Expanded commuter rail service.

--Up to three lanes each direction on the Santa Ana (Interstate 5) Freeway.

--Improvements to the El Toro “Y” where the Santa Ana and San Diego (Interstate 405) Freeways meet.

--Added lanes and improved interchanges on the Riverside/Artesia (California 91) Freeway.

--New lanes on the Costa Mesa (California 55) Freeway, north of the Santa Ana Freeway.

--Synchronized traffic signals on major streets in various parts of the county.

--Improved maintenance and rehabilitation of streets and roads.

--Improved transit service and discounted fares for senior citizens and the disabled.

--Requirement that cities and the county adopt growth management programs, balancing land development and traffic impacts.

Measure M, you see, is transportation projects, and a growth management plan designed to get to the root cause of traffic overloads. It is a pragmatic effort.

In a straightforward way, Measure M deals with Orange County’s No. 1 quality of life problem: traffic congestion. It gives voters a practical solution to a solvable problem.

Those who argue against Measure M consistently try to fog the issue. They talk about government philosophy. They can’t very well argue against traffic improvements. They want traffic congestion ended just like you and I do. They simply don’t want to pay for the improvements--they want someone else to pay.

The naysayers and grumps can argue all they want that we should get more from our state and federal treasuries. But the harsh reality is that no one will come to Orange County’s rescue and solve Orange County’s traffic problems. We have to do it ourselves.

Even worse, if we’re not willing to help ourselves, we’ll see our tax dollars--the money we pay at the pump when we buy gasoline--exported to other counties. This is a matter of uncontested fact. Because of the way state and federal matching funds work, we’ll leave tens of millions of transportation dollars on the table every year, money we need for street, rail and freeway improvements.

It may not seem fair, but those are the rules, and the rules make sense when you realize all of our neighboring counties and every urban county in California have enacted local-option sales tax measures like our Measure M.

Few will contest that Orange County traffic is every bit as bad as is traffic in other parts of the state. Measure M is needed to catch Orange County up with the 89% of the urban population paying a transportation sales tax.

Recently, I came across a revealing comment by traffic broadcaster Bill Keene in the Los Angeles Times magazine. Keene said:

“If I had my druthers, I’d rather drive in Los Angeles County. I think Orange County has a lot more traffic than we do.”

The California Transportation Commission has warned that it will yank $80 million for Orange County commuter rail almost immediately if Measure M loses, and we can’t pony up a half-share. In the longer run, we will be out $100 million a year of lost buying power, over and beyond Measure M revenues, by not having local money at hand.

Without the benefits of Measure M, we simply will not be able to keep California’s most dynamic county moving.

Who likes paying taxes? I don’t. I’m a lifelong Republican. I’m a staunch conservative and proud of it. I helped Howard Jarvis preserve Proposition 13. I was a soldier in the Reagan Revolution, and I served in Gov. Deukmejian’s administration. Like most Orange County voters, I’m skeptical of tax-and-spend schemes.

But I realize that there are times we have to pay our fair share to buy the things we need. We need transportation improvements in Orange County. To secure those improvements, we need Measure M.

The cost of the measure to the individual is reasonable. After paying for non-taxable items--including food, shelter, utilities, taxes and insurance--a normal family is lucky to have $1,000 a month to spend on items subject to sales tax. Half a percent of that is $5. That is less than the cost of a movie a month.

Think about your personal loss because of traffic congestion--the time and money you spend waiting for a clear driving path. Then decide where your best interest truly lies. I hope you will join me in voting “yes” on Measure M.